Wilted
by Love From Vikky
Summary: Orochimaru has his sights set on a new ninja- Haruno Sakura. (Warning: Read inside. Not for fans of happy stories)
1. Danger Lurks Beyong My Sight

Disclaimer: I own nothing more than a set of Pigma pens and a dream... (How poetic.)  
  
A/N: Yeah... this is going to be a really depressing little story if I have my way. I only want happy reviews, though, FLAMERS WILL BE EATEN (I'm serious, I'll find out where you live, little man).  
  
Rated PG-13 for: Language, Adult situations, violence, and implied rape. Don't like it, don't read.  
  
Summary (longer one): Orochimaru was said to have taken away children to his village- but how will Haruno Sakura tie in with this? After Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji leave after Sasuke and all the jounins are tied up with the threat of further war, who is left to protect the village's lone cherry blossom? No one realizes her danger until it is too late.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Haruno Sakura, a local kunoichi of the Konohagakure, sat alone in her bedroom, gazing forlornly out of her window at the pale half-moon that graced the night sky. How long had it been since Sasuke left...? Almost a week now...? Her heart seemed empty, but not nearly as empty as the village.  
  
All of the local jounins had been assigned missions, most of which were A or B-ranked. The village was in desperate need of money for repairs now, after the first attack by the Sound-nins and the Sand-nins. Wherever Sakura went now, people would be hustling and bustling around making hasty repairs to damaged property, shops, and monuments. Her own house had been damaged- a gaping hole dominated her dining room ceiling, result of gigantic snake tails flailing around carelessly.  
  
"But at least I train, unlike SOME people I know," Sakura sighed to herself as she turned away from her window and flung herself onto her bed, her face buried on her pillow. Her mind wandered to her greatest rival- Yamanaka Ino- who was, undoubtedly, working towards repairing her family's flower shop. The blonde seemed to have no qualms about cancelled classes, but seemed to rather enjoy the newfound life of flower keeping.  
  
But how long would it last...? Her self-training methods seemed hardly adequate, so how far behind would she fall without proper instruction? Perhaps she would try to visit the Hokage tomorrow...  
  
No, The Hokage was probably insane with exhaustion already. It would be dangerous for Sakura to visit in such a busy time. Though, Sakura thought, I really would appreciate a one-on-one session with Tsunade-sama. Maybe I just want someone to talk to, someone who understands what I'm going through.  
  
What was it, though? This feeling in her stomach, the feeling clawing at the back of her mind...? The strange sense of anxiety, of fear? Was it caused by fear of attack by the Sound? The fear of war, of being alone?  
  
Or was it... something else? Was that gut feeling of dread a premonition of things to come? Sakura longed to talk to some other woman who could maybe, just maybe, explain. But it seemed now that everyone was too preoccupied with the village to care about one lone genin, especially a girl with no real potential as a ninja.  
  
Maybe if Sakura had talked to the Hokage, she could have saved her spirit from the danger lurking in the shadows. 


	2. The Terror Dwelling in the Night

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Danger Lurks Beyond My Sight  
  
Sakura looked down at the Konoha village from her vantage point atop the Hokage monument. The sun was setting already, casting its last fiery rays over the round wooden buildings and shops. The sounds of hammering, talking, and all around noise had faded with the day, casting a sleepy silence over the village. Even the artisans who had been working on the monument late into the afternoon had gone home, having completed their task of carving Tsunade's eyes into the cliff-face.  
'Perhaps I should be getting home, too' thought Sakura as her tired emerald eyes stared blankly into the sunlight. With much effort, she managed to stand on her bruised and worn legs, pain screaming through her strained muscles. With a weary groan, she bent down and collected her scattered kunai, shuriken, and other assorted ninja weapons. Sakura turned, and began to stumble down the carved path that led to the bottom of the cliff.  
'Maybe...' she thought suddenly, turning around to face the edge of the cliff, 'maybe just once more...' With a wide grin, Sakura walked back over to the edge of the cliff and closed her eyes, her hands held in front of her face in concentration. Suddenly, she seemed to step off the edge of the cliff.  
The air currents rushed up at Sakura, blowing her hair straight up behind her as she walked down the front of the cliff. Despite her intense weariness from her extensive training, the feeling of the powerful breeze stirred something deep inside the girl. That was, aside from a means of practice, why she preferred to walk up and down the cliff instead of taking common paths. Her chakra control was near perfect for someone her age, and even some of the local jounins had trouble achieving what she had.  
Sakura smiled tiredly as she landed back on horizontal ground, little remnants of the chakra in her feet stirring small clouds of dust beneath her. Stifling a yawn, the pink-haired girl trudged through the winding streets of town, thinking of what her mother had made for dinner that evening. So consumed in her thoughts, she was, that she didn't bother investigating the strange chakra that seemed to hover over the streets.  
'Maybe she made chicken, that's always good... I hope she didn't make that spicy teriyaki...' Sakura rubbed her chin in thought, but her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh shit! It's already dark! Mom is going to kill me for being late!" The girl in red immediately quickened her pace, her teeth gritted and eyes wide as berated herself for not noticing the time. "Stupid, stupid, stupid Sakura!!! How could you let the time go by like that? Arg, this is so not good!" she muttered to herself as she ran through the streets. But, fate having its way, her legs suddenly gave out from beneath her, and she tumbled to the ground.  
"Noooo!!!" she cried as she looked down at herself, her clothes now covered in dirt. However much she wanted to simply keep running home, though, her body would not permit much more movement, and in the end of her struggles, Sakura gave in and dragged herself to an alleyway between two old, run-down buildings and leaned against the wall.  
"Mom's going to have my head," she mumbled angrily, half-heartedly brushing the dust off her dress. With a groan of displeasure, she leant back on the wall and closed her eyes. "Well, I'll just stay here until I get enough chakra back."  
Sakura breathed deeply, concentrating on gaining chakra. Her attempts were going fairly well, until her concentration was suddenly broken by a strange chill in the air.  
'What?' though Sakura, hugging her arms as the sudden chill swept over her skin. The air seemed empty, all warmth sucked out of it. The night no longer seemed beautiful, only barren and frightening. Sakura looked around in confusion.  
"Where did the warmth go?" she asked no one imparticular, though she got an answer.  
"Warmth evades my touch," said a low, colder-than-ice, scathing tone from the deeper shadows of the alley. The sound pierced Sakura's mind like tiny needles, sending more chills throughout her nerves. She squeezed her arms tighter in hopes of some warm relief as she answered, her eyes wide with fear.  
"Who are you?" she hissed, her voice unwillingly trembling.  
"Someone you will become very familiar with, Sakura-chan," replied the voice, and Sakura's mind seemed to break free of its icy fear. She stumbled backwards, towards the exit of the alleyway, nervous energy coursing through her muscles.  
"Stay away!" she ordered, clumsily drawing a kunai from its string. "I'm warning you!" Her body trembled as she spoke, making her threat seem empty to even her.  
"Now are you sure you want to hurt me?" asked the voice in a sickeningly sweet voice, and a hand reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrist, causing her to drop her weapon. Sakura stared down at the hand in horror, it was so hellishly frightening. It couldn't be described as pale, lord no, it was far beyond that- its hue was that of a dead thing. And only one thought ran through her mind at that moment...  
'It is so cold!!!' her mind screamed in its panic. Sakura's breaths came short and raspy as she stood, paralyzed, in its grasp.  
"Let me go!" she screamed suddenly, her logic returning to her. Surprisingly, the hand loosened its grip on her enough to so that she slipped away, staggering back into the streets. Sakura didn't even glance over her shoulder as she henceforth darted away, back to the warmth of her home.  
"Soon, Sakura-chan, soon you will come to me," hissed the voice, amusement lingering in its tone as the warmth slowly returned to the night. 


	3. Keep Me Safe, Locked From Within

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, otherwise none of you would like the series.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Sakura slammed the door to her house shut behind her and locked it, her fingers trembling as she hitched the latch. Her body still quivering from the shock, she slid down to the floor limply, as if the cold had drained away her life energy. Her mother, hearing the commotion as her daughter entered the house, bustled over to the top of the stairs, a towel in her hands.  
"Now where have you been, girl? Dinner was half-hour ago! Do you know how upset your father- what's wrong?" The woman's scolding faded away as she noticed the panic and exhaustion in the pink-haired girl's eyes. Sakura stared up at her, her breath coming ragged in her throat.  
"So... cold... where did... the warm go?" she gasped out as she collapsed onto the floor.  
"Sakura!!!" her mother cried, bounding down the stairs where her daughter had crumpled. "Katashi- help me!" shouted the woman, and almost instantly a large man appeared at the top of the stairs, wide-eyed.  
"What happened?" he asked, leaping down the stairs to his wife's side. "What's wrong with Sakura?"  
"She... just... collapsed! She practically broke the door down to get in, and then locked it, and just... fell!" The woman was practically in hysterics now, and the blond Katashi placed a calming hand around her shoulders.  
"Hush, hush now Amaya, Sakura will be okay. Go prepare a spot for her on her bed, I'll bring her up," whispered the man in his wife's ear. She nodded tearfully and headed up the stairs, stealing nervous glances down at her daughter. Katashi sighed and picked up his unconscious daughter, gently lifting her off the floor and carrying her up to her room, where he placed her onto the mattress. Amaya silently pulled the sheets up to Sakura's chin, and stood up from the bedside. She turned a pale face to her husband.  
"What happened to her?" she asked, her voice quivering. "Should we call a doctor?"  
"I believe she was attacked, Amaya," Katashi said quietly, rubbing his stubbly chin in concentration. Amaya clamped her hands over her mouth, stifling her startled gasp.  
"What do you mean, attacked? What makes you say such things?" she hissed, rushing to her daughter's defense. "Who would attack out poor Sakura? She has no enemies."  
"I have my reasons- did you not notice the bruises on her left wrist?" Katashi said slowly, gently lifting Sakura's limp hand with his own and holding it out for Amaya to see. "They are in the shape of fingers. I doubt that she did that while training."  
"Katashi, what does it mean? Is she being bullied again?"  
"No, Amaya, Sakura is able to handle herself against common bullies. Whomever set her into this state had some dark intent." Katashi sighed wearily, now looking weary.  
"Then... what will we do? We left the ninja groups as Genins, we can't defend her," Amaya asked quietly.  
"We can do nothing," Katashi replied. "If it happens again, we will report it to the Hokage. There is nothing more we can do."  
And with that, the Harunos left Sakura to fend for herself against the danger in the dark. 


	4. Locked Inside a Cradle of Sin

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Oh, and is you can't tell by reading my other fics, this is my little dark side writing.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"I'm going out to train, mother!" called Sakura she finished brushing her hair out. Today, she decided, she would were it back- it got in the way during training. She dashed out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, only to be met with a worried woman standing in her way.  
"Sakura honey, I don't think you should be training," she said, handing her daughter a piece of toast. Sakura took the food gratefully. "After the state you came home in, I'm worried about you."  
"Oh mother," Sakura sighed between bites of breakfast, "I'm alright now- see? I'm not shaking anymore, and my bruise has faded dramatically." Sakura held up her left wrist for her parent's examining. The dark purple had, indeed, faded to a lighter blue.  
"I'm still not sure," replied Sakura's mother. "What if whomever did that to you comes back?"  
"Mom- I'll pay more attention today! I was being careless yesterday! I'm fine now!" Sakura whined as she finished her toast.  
"I'm not quite happy about it, but I suppose-" The elder Haruno woman halted midway through her sentence as she realized that her audience had disappeared. Sakura was already out the door, stumbling as she shoved her shoes on. The pink-haired ninja girl had not even bothered to say goodbye.  
"Be careful, Sakura," whispered Haruno Amaya after her only child.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura sighed as she trained, shuriken and kunai throwing being her first exercise. Each day, she would set up a target and berate it with her weapons until each landed in the center, and then she would move the target back two feet. It may seem slightly arduous to anyone with less patience than Sakura, but to the girl, it was the perfect means of improvement.  
After that, she would focus on stamina and chakra control- but only stamina practice was really necessary. As almost anyone would say that Sakura had almost jounin-ly chakra control.  
Third, she would focus on strength, then speed, and defense. She would hang upside-down from a tree, holding a rock over her head, and if she dropped the rock... well, she would fall and get drastically injured. So she made sure this never happened. This was conditioning practice for both chakra control and stamina as well. For speed, she would throw a kunai as far as she could, and race to catch it. She punished herself if she didn't catch it- one less bite of her rice balls. Finally, for defense, she would rig traps and set them off, and avoid the painful purpose of the traps- it helped somewhat.  
Lastly, Sakura studied her scrolls and practiced hand-kata formation. If she managed to get the katas perfectly formed; she would work on her speed in completing them.  
Thus Sakura trained, faithfully, day in and day out.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura fell backwards, limbs splayed out in any direction as she breathed heavily. She let the water bottle roll from her hand as she closed her eyes slightly, her muscles strained and crying in exhaustion. She had just finished her speed training, and was completely worm from a hard, half- day's work. She sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on relaxing her muscles completely.  
Her rest was going pleasantly until the sunrays suddenly faded away behind clouds and a chill breeze swept through the forest. That sudden cold that she had felt the day before returned, and her eyes snapped open in shock at the sudden feeling. She stumbled onto her feet; looking around and focusing on the frigid chakra that emanated from nearby.  
But the cold seemed to be all around her, pressing in on her from all sides, choking the happiness from her heart. Sakura collapsed to the ground, and decided to do what any smart shinobi would do- ask questions.  
"Who are you?" she called out to her strange visitor.  
"Who I am is of no pertinence at the moment, Sakura-chan," replied the voice slowly, in that same icy, sickeningly-sweet tone as yesterday.  
"What do you want? Why are you here?" she asked again, hoping for a better answer this time.  
"I am not here today to harm you, child, just to talk to you," the person replied. "I am only here to talk."  
"About what?" Sakura snapped back, annoyed by the voice's lazy calmness.  
"About you, my dear, about you." 


	5. Devil Holds Me Close Him

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Fine," Sakura sighed, slowly getting used to the horrible chill in the air. "But I'd feel a hell of a lot better if I could see you," she added hopefully.  
  
"You will not see me yet, dear Sakura-chan," the voice replied calmly. Sakura looked around in annoyance. "You'll see me soon enough."  
  
"Alright then, whoever-you-are, what do you want to talk about?" Sakura asked dryly.  
  
"Since you don't seem to want to tell me anything, I'll ask you a few questions," the voice called. "Now, Sakura-chan, why do you train yourself so much? Why put your supple young body through suck torture each day? What do you want to accomplish?"  
  
"I only want to get stronger," Sakura replied, purposely withholding information and emotion. She wasn't feeling comfortable at all with this person's choice of words, calling her 'Sakura-chan' and 'supple'. It was very creepy, actually.  
  
"Don't play with me- who are you trying to impress? What are you trying to prove?" The tone now seemed slightly annoyed, as was Sakura's. But the pink-haired girl inwardly gasped. How could anyone read between the lines like that?  
  
"I want to become stronger so that when... I find this boy... that he won't think I am weak anymore." Sakura's breath came ragged as tear burned the back of her eyes, memories of Sasuke's cold words flooding her memory. "I want to find him and prove that I am strong."  
  
"A blossom so lovely as yourself should not be put through such misery with training," the voice replied, its placid calm returning. "You do know that this method of training will takes years to grant you the desired results?"  
  
"What would you know?" Sakura snapped. "As if there were any other way..." Her eyes hardened in bitterness- why couldn't she just be naturally strong like Naruto and Sasuke-kun? The scene was silent for a moment before the unseen visitor replied.  
  
"What would you say if I offered you the means to gain strength ten times as fast? To become as strong as any jounin within months?" The voice now held a tone of obvious amusement as Sakura looked around, her eyes wide and wondering. "Perhaps, even... reunite you with this boy you seek?"  
  
"How... could you do such a thing?" Sakura asked, voice quiet and curious.  
  
"I have my ways. Now tell me, blossom- what would you give?" Sakura sat still, deep in thought.  
  
'A chance to be with Sasuke-kun? To be strong? How far would I go?' Sakura thought, but her heart was crying out to her mind. 'Oh, isn't it obvious? That would be everything I've ever wanted!'  
  
"Well?" drawled the voice slowly, the 'l' lingering on its tongue.  
"What would you do for power? For the one you love? How far would you  
go, Sakura- chan?" Anyone could see it now, Sakura was wrapped around  
the stranger's finger, being bent anyway he wanted.  
  
"Shut up!!! I would..." Sakura replied, her hands over her heart and  
tears in her eyes. "I would give anything..." Her voice quavered with  
despair and sorrow. "Excellent," chuckled the voice. "Could you really  
give me that?" Sakura asked. "Could you really bring me Sasuke-kun?"  
  
"Of course I could. But the question now is, are you really willing to  
sacrifice yourself for all I have said before? Would you be willing to  
start anew?" The voice held undetectable amounts of malice and raw  
evil now.  
  
"I would! I would! What do I have to do?!" Sakura cried, the tears  
falling onto the stone below.  
  
"Tell me! I will obey!"  
  
"That is exactly what I wanted to hear," chuckled the voice darkly.  
"First, unzip the top of your dress a little," the voice instructed.  
  
"What?!" Sakura cried, protectively clinging to the cloth over her  
chest.  
  
"Not that far, girl, just so that the area above your heart shows,"  
the voice replied in annoyance. Sakura, grumbling, obeyed and stood  
up, modeling the slight modification.  
  
"Now what?" Sakura asked.  
  
"Just make a little cut on that spot now, Sakura-chan, deep enough so  
that you bleed." Sakura's hand quivered as she brought one of her last  
kunai up to her chest and made a quick little notch, gasping as  
droplets of blood dripped down under her clothes.  
  
"And...?" Sakura asked, gently fingering the bloody spot.  
  
"That's it. Nothing more to do," the voice replied calmly.  
  
"How can this make me strong for Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.  
  
"That is only step one, Sakura-chan. The rest will happen tomorrow."  
  
"What will happen then?" Sakura asked in curiosity as she zipped up  
the rest of her dress to try and warm the exposed skin back up.  
  
"Just train as you usually do, and I will handle it all from then.  
There is nothing more you need to do, I will take care of the rest,  
Sakura-chan," the voice directed. "Now that our little deal is made, I  
must leave."  
  
"What? I still have questions!" Sakura called as the warm slowly  
permeated back into the training area.  
  
"Tomorrow," the voice called from an obvious distance. Sakura just  
gaped in awe and disappointment before she turned back to her tools.  
She sighed and decided to go home for the day after she made a quick  
bandage for her self- inflicted wound.  
  
The blood-bind had been performed, the permanent scar inflicted, and  
the pact with the devil signed. 


	6. A Slave Unto His Every Whim

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura barely touched her dinner that evening. She sat at the table, just sliding her chopsticks across her plate dully. She flinched whenever someone touched her, and jumped when someone called her name. It was as if her mind was elsewhere.  
"Sakura, honey, what's wrong?" asked Haruno Amaya as she watched her daughter pick lazily at her dish. "I thought you liked pickled sour plums."  
"I'm just not hungry," replied Sakura, her eyes misted over as she fantasized.  
"What is wrong with you today? Are you ill?" asked Sakura's father, leaning across the table to place a hand over her forehead.  
"I'm okay! Really!" Sakura sighed, dodging her father's callused hands. "Just back off!" Sakura felt a strange stress within her chest, right about where she had cut herself. An unexplainable rage was building within her, slowly boiling towards the surface.  
"Sakura honey, maybe you should just quit training! Until that teacher of yours gets back-" the Haruno woman suggested peacefully, but found herself staring into Sakura's bright green eyes- which were suddenly a very deep tone indeed.  
"No! I have to train! You wouldn't understand!" Sakura yelled, feeling herself loosing control of her anger.  
"Sakura, sweetie, I was only making a suggestion," Amaya said, trying desperately not to upset Sakura any more.  
"What would you know? You two were failures! You quit! You wouldn't understand what it is like! You stupid, ignorant people! I can't believe that you are my parents! You'll never understand what it's like for me!" Sakura screamed as she leapt to her feet, sending her bowl flying onto the floor where its contents spilled and the dish shattered.  
"Sakura! Sit down!" roared her father, rising to her feet.  
"No!" Sakura yelled back rebelliously. The man, in a desperate hope to get the old Sakura back, lifted his hand and then swung it towards Sakura's face.  
"No!" cried Amaya, trying desperately to sooth both her daughter and her husband. But it was too late.  
Sakura's hand instinctively reached for a kunai, and silence suddenly fell over the family as blood dripped to the floor. The head of the Haruno household looked down at his hands, where a kunai had entered one side and exited the other. Blood poured from the wound, and absolutely gushed as Sakura pulled her kunai back out.  
"Katashi!" shrieked Amaya, leaping to her feet and to her husband, who was frozen in shock as he stared at his hand. "Darling!" She turned to Sakura, who was calmly cleaning her weapon on her dress. 'What have you done?"  
"I am sorry, mother," whispered Sakura before she turned and dashed from the house, not bothering to close the door behind her. Amaya breathed heavily, trying to think of what had just happened, until Haruno Katashi moaned in agony at his wound.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura lay atop the Hokage monument, in the center of her training area. She stared blankly up at the stars, her eyes half closed as the cool breeze slowly wafted over her. This was where she belonged, up here, all alone. Her parents wouldn't understand.  
'But why did I feel so mad? Why did I stab father?' she questioned herself. It was a puzzle to her, one that she could not solve.  
And with her thoughts in that area, she slowly drifted away into a deep, dreamless sleep. 


	7. The Strangest Foulest Evil Urge

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
  
Sorry for not updating, my computer screws up the format on my stories. I'm using a school one at the moment.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura, when she woke up the next morning, wondered vaguely why she was at her training place. But the memories of the previous evening flooded back into her mind. Her mother's pleas, her fathers cries of rage and then agony. Sakura lowered her head in shame at her actions.  
"But it is too late now," she said suddenly, lifting her head back up to the morning sunlight. The tears that had threatened to drip from her eyes seemed to disintegrate back into her skull. "I gave up my family for this, so I shouldn't go back! What was done is done, and I can't go back now," she said confidently, standing up and ignoring the hunger pains in her stomach. She lifted up her training tools and started her training, ignoring the dark clouds that slowly rolled across the sun.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura sat down on the ground heavily, huffing and puffing in exhaustion from her intensified training. It was amazing to her how much she had improved, but still- it was not enough.  
  
But suddenly, that eerie cold feeling came back, chilling Sakura to the core. She stood up and looked around.  
  
"Sakura-chan," a familiar voice called from the shadows, engulfing Sakura in the echoing sound. Today, though, something was different- the person behind the voice seemed childish, amused, and sneaky.  
  
"Yes, I'm here!" Sakura said excitedly, forgetting about her previous hunger pains.  
  
"Today is a very special day, Sakura-chan. Do you know why?" the voice called out to the blossom-haired kunoichi.  
  
"Do I get to see Sasuke-kun? Do I get to see you?" Sakura asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up for the first time in a day. The voice chuckled coldly.  
  
"You do not get to see Sasuke-kun today, Sakura-chan, but you can see me if you like." Sakura gasped and clapped her hands together.  
  
"Yes! I want to see you! Show yourself to me!" Sakura replied, forcing herself to calm down.  
  
"Now, now, Sakura-chan. I need you to promise me something first," the voice said calmly.  
  
"Anything!" Sakura replied hastily, not stopping to think about the consequences.  
  
"Once you see me, Sakura-chan, you can never go back on your word- do you promise that, once you see me, you will do exactly as I say?" The voice had a definite evil in its tone, Sakura noticed, but she ignored it- anyone could make themselves sound threatening.  
  
"I promise you, on my love for Sasuke-kun and this scar on my chest, that I will do anything you ask me to," Sakura said solemnly, placing one hand defensively over the sore, deep gash on her chest.  
  
"Excellent, Sakura-chan. Now, go on with your speed training, and you will see me very soon."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The few jounins left in the village were on an A-rank mission within the town- find the source of the strange, dark chakra that permeated through the air. About two were currently on duty searching for it, and they suddenly felt it. As dark clouds rolled over the village, a dark aura emanated from the Hokage monument. The two nodded and dashed off in that direction.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sakura threw her kunai deep into the woods, and quickly raced after it, hoping to catch it. Over bramble, root, and vine she dashed; dodging trees and other obstacles in her path.  
  
"I know it was over here, I know it is," she muttered as she practically flew through the forest. "A ha!" she cried, spotting a clearing where a little glint of metal was visible. Sakura ran towards it, but stopped suddenly as a figure emerged from seemingly nowhere and picked up the kunai, swinging it loftily in his fingers.  
  
"Are you looking for this?" he asked sinisterly, hie snake-like features curling up in a cruel smile.  
  
"You! You are Orochimaru! Hokage-sama told me about you!" Sakura cried out in shock. "You can't be the one I am looking for!"  
  
"But, Sakura-chan," hissed the lord of the Sound Village, suddenly standing right behind her and whispering in her ear, "You promised." That same cold feeling washed over Sakura, dizzying her to the point of falling. She would've, anyway, had Orochimaru's strong, lithe arms not snaked around her waist and held her to him.  
  
"Let me go!" Sakura cried, her strength ebbing as the cold threatened to consume her. But her world was engulfed in black as a snake-like tongue gently tickled her cheek. 


End file.
